


feelings never told

by dev0n



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-30 15:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17831009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dev0n/pseuds/dev0n
Summary: Matt feels the stranger straighten suddenly, eyes locked on Matt. Matt raises a hand to wave as though he doesn't sense the stranger's sudden change in stance. "Nice to─""Matt Murdock?"What?





	feelings never told

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this over a year ago with the intention of making it a multi-chapter fic, but... i don't know if that's ever gonna happen. still, i thought this was alright by itself, so... here you go?? the inspiration for it was _punisher kills the marvel universe_ , which is a really good read, albeit terribly depressing; most of the dialogue from matt's dream is lifted directly from a scene in that comic.
> 
> i'm pretty sure i proofread this one... at some point...
> 
> title from bloom by the paper kites.

_"Get up, Murdock! Come on! Daredevil!" There's rage simmering just under the surface in Matt's mind when the punches and kicks of his three bullies land everywhere they can reach. But Matt doesn't tap into it, he does what Dad's always taught him to do, he tries to be the bigger person._

_And then he hears an unfamiliar, eerily calm voice coming from the mouth of the alley._

_"Leave him be."_

_One of the bullies steps aside, giving Matt an upside-down view of the boy who's interfering. He's walking down the alley toward them slowly, an utterly calm expression on his face. Two of them look frightened, Matt realizes. The third one starts to speak, sounding outraged at the interruption; but he doesn't even get out a single word before the stranger throws a punch, nearly knocking Matt's attacker onto his back._

_All three of the bullies turn and run toward the mouth of the alley as fast as their legs can take them. "That's big Frank Castle! I ain't tanglin' with him!"_

_Matt sits up slowly when the stranger ─ no, Frank Castle ─ approaches him. But all Frank does is kneel beside him, wordlessly starting to gather Matt's books and homework. Matt quickly starts to assist him, trying to work up the nerve to say something. "Why─?"_

_"I hate bullies. You don't hit 'em back they're just gonna keep hurtin' you, Matt. Only way to stop 'em."_

Matt wakes with a start. Foggy is knocking on his bedroom door; this early in the morning, it sounds to Matt like Foggy is pounding on concrete with a sledgehammer.

"Matt, wake up! Ex-Marine dude is comin' to look at the empty room in, like, twenty minutes."

Matt grumbles under his breath and rubs his temples. "Yeah. I'm up, I'm up," he calls, just loud enough that Foggy can hear him. He takes five minutes to wrestle his senses back into check, then gets up to get dressed.

Matt barely has time to pee, brush his teeth, and comb his hair before their potential new roommate shows up. He feels for his watch. It's exactly noon, down to the minute. Punctuality is a good sign, right? Matt smiles slightly, standing in the hallway and leaning against the wall as Foggy opens the door.

"Hey, man!" Foggy greets jubilantly.

The stranger is definitely not as chipper as Foggy, but he's polite. Matt hears them shake hands. "Afternoon, Mr. Nelson." Matt's brow furrows. There's something oddly familiar about this man. Did Foggy mention his name? Matt can't remember.

"Oh, man, you can just call me Foggy," Foggy laughs. He gestures down the hall toward Matt. "This is Matt. He rents out the second room."

Matt feels the stranger straighten suddenly, eyes locked on Matt. Matt raises a hand to wave as though he doesn't sense the stranger's sudden change in stance. "Nice to─"

"Matt Murdock?"

_What?_

Foggy looks between the two of them, seeming confused. "Jesus, Matt, is this _another_ of your one-night stands, or─?"

"No," the stranger interrupts, huffing out a sheepish almost-laugh. "No. We, uh, we knew each other when we were kids, that's all. Maybe I shouldn't have assumed, but ─ blind ginger in Hell's Kitchen named Matt?"

Matt senses the stranger shrug. He laughs and smiles, nodding. "Yeah, you have the right Matt. But I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure who you are." Matt has a guess, though, and his heart races a little at the possibility.

"I mean, I was about twelve when I moved," the stranger says offhandedly, "So I suppose I can't hold it against you."

Twelve when he moved?

_Holy shit._

"Oh!" Matt's smile stretches into a grin. "Big Frank Castle, as I live and breathe!"

"There you go." The old nickname makes Frank laugh for real this time, and he walks down the hall to clap Matt on the shoulder. 'Big' definitely still applies to him; Frank is built exactly like Matt would expect a Marine to be. They're the same height, but Frank is much bulkier, more muscular. Matt reaches out to squeeze Frank's shoulder. ~~Holy shit.~~

"Don't mind me over here," Foggy says, sounding both confused and amused. "I'll just go take myself on a tour around the apartment."

"Foggy's jealous that you've known me longer than he has," Matt informs Frank.

"Hey, am not!" Foggy's heart skips slightly. Matt suppresses a laugh.

"My apologies, Mr. Nelson," Frank says. His heart skips slightly, too. _He's ─ not sorry?_ There's even a little hesitance when Frank slides his hand away from Matt's shoulder.

Matt realizes then that his face is probably a little flushed. He stays in the hallway for a moment to compose himself. If anyone asks, it's out of shock at seeing an old friend and absolutely nothing else.

"Foggy," Foggy corrects again. "People can start calling me Mr. Nelson _after_ I pass the bar."

──

Matt lets Foggy guide Frank around for the most part, throwing in little quips when he has the opportunity just to hear Frank laugh. Afterward, they all sit down in the living room and hash out the living situation. Frank's going to move in next week, they agree; he'll pay the first and last month's rent up front, in cash.

Which he sets on the coffee table before them immediately after they've all agreed and Foggy has obtained a copy of the form they'll need to add Frank onto the lease.

"... You just carried that around on you? In _Hell's Kitchen?"_ Foggy asks in disbelief.

"Carried what?" Matt asks, feigning ignorance. He could have smelled that much money from across the building and ten floors down.

"First and last month's rent," Frank tells Matt, then turns to Foggy and gestures toward himself. "Marine."

"Right." Foggy shakes his head and laughs a little, getting to his feet. "Well, I'm supposed to meet Marci for coffee at 1:30, so I'll let you guys catch up, or whatever." He and Frank shake hands again. "Good to meet you, man. I'll see you next week. Seeya, Matt."

"Later," Matt replies. "Make good decisions."

"Always do, Murdock."

"Sure, Nelson."

Matt hears Foggy laugh as he shuts the door. He turns his head toward Frank again, tilting it slightly. Now that they're alone, he's pretty sure Frank's heart rate has picked up just a little bit. "So..."

"So," Frank repeats. Matt's pretty sure he's smiling.

"Guess you kept fighting bullies even after you left Hell's Kitchen, huh?"

Frank lets out another one of those soft laughs, turning his upper body to face Matt and resting his elbow against the back of the couch. "You could say that, yeah."

"How long have you been back?" Matt questions curiously.

"'Bout a month. Been stayin' with a buddy of mine."

Matt hums. "Well, welcome home, Marine." He smiles softly. "You discharged, or...?"

"Yeah." Frank's voice doesn't betray any emotion, negative or positive. "Might re-enlist eventually. Not sure."

Matt has other questions, but he's pretty sure now's not the time to ask them. Luckily, Frank changes the subject before they can fall into an awkward silence.

"How about you? What've you been up to? I only moved a couple months after..." Frank gestures vaguely toward Matt, then presumably remembers Matt can't see it. "... The accident, I mean."

"Yeah." Matt leans back and tilts his head toward the ceiling. "After I went blind, the kids who picked on me all sort of started pretending I didn't exist, instead, so there's that. And, uh. My dad died a few months later."

"Shit, Matt. I'm sorry." Frank's sympathy sounds surprisingly sincere. Frank had actually met Jack before, though; Matt remembers having seen him and his father around Fogwell's before.

Matt shrugs. "Thank you. I did what he always wanted me to do, though. I kept studying. Graduated top of the class. Right now I'm in between semesters at Columbia Law."

Frank lets out a low whistle. "You've been keepin' busy, huh?"

"You could say that," Matt laughs. "What did you do before you enlisted?"

"Ah, nothing exciting. No straight A's like you, but I did decent in school. Enlisted soon as I graduated."

Matt hums, turning his head slightly toward Frank. "You know... This is going to sound weird, but I just had a dream about you last night." Frank laughs a little, and Matt grins, shaking his head. "No, no, I did. About the, ah, the day we first met. When you punched that asshole kid in the face for me." Matt feels something change in the air between them, but he's not quite sure what it is.

"Ah. You really still remember that, Red?" Frank's tone is almost bashful, and there's a grin in it. Matt's heart skips a beat at the old nickname.

He and Frank hadn't exactly become best friends after the bullying incident. But they'd both had a penchant for sneaking out after dark and doing stupid shit, and sometimes they did stupid shit together. A lot of the time, they'd play superheroes; the costume Matt always wore was red. Frank's chosen name had always been the Punisher, but Matt was indecisive. He'd changed his superhero persona's name often enough that Frank had just taken to calling him 'Red'.

"I'd better get goin'," Frank said after a beat of silence. Matt felt slightly disappointed, but he nodded anyway. They both got up, and Matt walked Frank to the door. Frank squeezed Matt's shoulder again before he left.

"Seeya next week, Red."

It sounded like a promise.


End file.
